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LAWRENCE – Ten outstanding University of Kansas undergraduates have been selected to serve as Hall Center Scholars for 2014-2015. They will have exclusive opportunities to interact with the well-known authors, scholars and public intellectuals who speak in the Hall Center Humanities Lecture Series. The scholars for 2014-15:

Saran Davaajargal, a sophomore in economics and mathematics from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Emma Halling, a senior in American studies and women, gender & sexuality studies from Elkhart, Indiana

Alex Kong, a senior in pharmaceutical studies from Lawrence

Alexander Kuhn, a senior in history and Russian, East European & Eurasian studies from Shawnee

Leigh Loving, a senior in genetics, from McPherson and from Mendota Heights, Minnesota

Micah Melia, a senior in anthropology from Prairie Village

Cassandra Osei, a senior from history and Latin American & Caribbean studies from Shawnee

Julia Reynolds, a junior in the history of art from Knoxville, Tennessee

Sebastian Schoneich, a senior in biochemistry and philosophy from Lawrence

Corbin Stephens, a senior in economics and pre-med, Colby

The students, whose interests represent a wide array of disciplines, will discuss works they may not have time or opportunity to discuss within their own classwork. They will participate in a faculty-guided book club, focusing on books and articles by Humanities Lecture Series speakers, and will also lunch privately with the speakers.

This year, in conjunction with Blue Valley West High School, located in Overland Park, the Hall Center will also pilot a Scholars project intended to reach out to area high school students. Once a semester, competitively selected students from Blue Valley West will take a field trip to attend a Humanities Lecture Series event and will interact with the current class of Scholars. The Scholars’ outreach will introduce the high school students both to the humanities and to KU, immersing them in the type of academic experience to which they could look forward as KU students. This year, the Scholars and students’ discussions will center on Amy Wilentz and James Oakes.

The Humanities Lecture Series speakers for 2014-2015 will be Katherine Boo, John Symons, Amy Wilentz, Anna Deavere Smith, Natasha Trethewey and James Oakes. The series has long provided a forum for interdisciplinary dialogue among renowned speakers, the university and surrounding communities.

Hall Center Scholar awards, made possible by donations to the Friends of the Hall Center, are open to KU undergraduates with strong academic credentials who have demonstrated significant engagement in the university community.

For more information about the Hall Center Scholar program or the Humanities Lecture Series, please contact the Hall Center via email or call 785-864-4798.

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